The African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA), with the support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (CNHF), are implementing a program entitled "Empowered WASH Systems at District-level in Africa (EMPOWERWASH-Africa).” This program aims at (i)supporting better understanding by AfWASA of WASH systems at district level so to identify the gaps and challenges to improve the performance of service delivery, ii) improving WASH systems at district level throughout knowledge and best practice sharing by the means of peer-to-peer learning approach and iii) supporting the creation of new knowledge and dissemination of best practices through the small grant and Community of Practitioners (CoPs).

It is in that regard the AfWASA is awarding research scholarships to ten (10) African Young Water and Sanitation Professionals. Target beneficiaries are undergraduate, and masters’ students as well as engineers in the final year of their training. Each scholarship, with a maximum value of USD 1,000 (one thousand US dollars), will make it possible to conduct research work sanctioned by a scientific report on a theme related to the WASH in Rural areas.

Application process

Candidates for the scholarship program will formulate their research topics related to the WASH in Rural areas of their respective countries. To apply, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

• Be a citizen of a sub-Saharan African country.
• Have a strong academic background with respect to their institution.
• Submit an application file including:
  1. Student card or registration receipt for the current year
  2. Last completed degree.
  3. Resume/Curriculum vitae (3 pages max)
  4. Three recommendation letters (one should be from the academic research supervisor)
  5. Research proposal form to be downloaded by clicking on the following link Research Proposal Form

Women are encouraged to apply.

Submission

Applicants must submit their application electronically at https://bit.ly/empowerWASHafrica_YWSP_researchgrant_form

The list of successful candidates will be published on AfWASA website: www.afwasa.org and each beneficiary will receive an official notification from AfWASA.

Submission deadline

Students wishing to participate in the program are requested to submit their full application by November 15, 2023. The list of recipients for the 2022-2023 academic year shall be published by January 15, 2024.

Financial aspect

As part of this scholarship, the maximum amount allocated per recipient is US $ 1,000. Sixty percent (60%) of this amount will be paid to the recipient once the detailed plan of the research project is finalized, approved by the research supervisor, and received by AfWASA Research Program Coordinator. The remaining forty percent (40%) shall be paid once the recipient submits the electronic version of their final research report.

Reporting conditions

Students receiving the AfWASA grant will be required to regularly prepare and submit a monthly report on the status of their work and a final report at the end of the research project.